From National Weather Service Meteorologist Bobby Boyd:
On the morning of Dec. 11, ice was observed around the stems of some of the plants here at the National Weather Service office on Old Hickory Lake near Langford Cove.
This phenomenon is known as “frost flowers” or sometimes “ice flowers.”
When the ground is not already frozen the sap in the stem of the plants will expand, causing long, thin cracks to form along the length of the stem. Water is then drawn through the cracks. As it pushes the thin ice layers further from the stem, it causes a thin pedal to form.
They usually are visible just after daybreak when temperatures are very cold, as was the morning of the 11th when the temperature was 18 degrees at the time I took the pictures. I have seen them through the daylight hours but often times they will melt or sublimate when exposed to sunlight.
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